Novo mesto, also called the metropolis of Dolenjska, was founded in the year 1365, when the Austrian Archduke Rudolf IV granted city rights to the town at the bend of theKrka River. Officially called Rudolsfwerd, it grew as Novo Mesto and soon became an administration, cultural, religious and business center of Dolenjska. Novo Mesto is situated in the midst of the hilly landscape of Dolenjska, embraced by the Krka River.Abundance of nature, tradition and culture can be a real experience for every visitor of Novo Mesto. The Krka Valley, located just above Novo mesto, is in the opinion of many the most beautiful river valley in Slovenia with tender banks, picturesque rapids and natural dams which emphasize its nature. Special attractions include numerous mills and castles which, combined with the landscape seem anachronistic in our present day. You will find the stay in our town pleasant. You can select among a variety of viewpoints, pilgrimage trails, sports and other facilities and forests rich with walking paths, hunting possibilities, forest fruits for picking, and fishing. In the town you will find numerous monuments, and in the Museum of Dolenjska, an amazing archaeological wealth as well. Novo mesto invites you to visit it. And if you will, and if you get to know it, you will certainly fall in love with it, because there is not a town as beautiful, sensual and desirable as Novo mesto.Novo mesto (360°)

www.novomesto.siThe old city core of Novo mesto, situated on a promontory in a bend of the Krka River, is enchanting with its aristocratic Glavni trg square with arcades fronting the ground floors of rich townhouses and its characteristic City Hall. The Chapter Church, the Franciscan Church, the Dolenjska Regional Museum, and the Jakčev dom Gallery are also worth visiting, and the view of the remarkable row of Na Bregu houses—the most picturesque part of the city core—reflected in the Krka River below has often been depicted by painters.

Post Office : Pošta Novo mesto Novi trg 7, 8000 Novo mesto ++ 386 7 371 89 52 Bus station : Avtobusna postaja Novo mesto Topliška cesta 1, 8000 Novo mesto ++ 386 7 332 11 23 Railway station : Železniška postaja Novo mesto Kolodvorska ulica 1, 8000 Novo mesto ++ 386 7 298 21 00 www.slo-zeleznice.si Car Rentals : Avto moto zveza-tehnična baza Otočec Grajska cesta 5, 8222 Otočec ++ 386 7 394 17 06 Police : Policijska uprava Novo mesto Ljubljanska cesta 23, 8000 Novo mesto ++386 7 393 65 70 Medical center : Zdravstveni dom Novo mesto Kandijska cesta 4, 8000 Novo mesto ++ 386 7 391 67 00 Dentist : Zdravstveni dom Novo mesto Kandijska cesta 4, 8000 Novo mesto ++ 386 7 391 67 00 Additional description : NOVO MESTODolenjska is a dynamic, rolling land of a multitude of gentle forms and colours. Through it, the River Krka flows, an emerald beauty that for centuries has shown the way to the local population and travellers.With the help of material vestiges, archaeologists have gradually unveiled an image of the life led by the first people who settled in the region back in the Stone Age. Yet, the real treasures are sites dating from the early and late Iron Age. Favourable transport routes, the terrain, climate and iron ore deposits gave rise to settlements on naturally fortified hills. New discoveries made every year confirm the status of Novo Mesto as one of the most important European cultural centres from 8th century BC to 1st century BC. In the vicinity of Novo Mesto, an important Roman transport route connected Emona (Ljubljana) and Siscia (Sisak). In the Classical Period, Romans also left traces of their presence there.In the Middle Ages, noble families and ecclesiastical institutions, conquering lands to the south of Europe and asserting their political and economic interests in subjugated territories, began to establish markets and towns as administrative and military centres of their dominions. The Habsburgs also needed a stronghold of their own to assert their power in the region.On 7 April 1365, Duke Rudolph IV of Habsburg founded a town in a previously unpopulated area and named it Rudolfswerth but, from the very beginning, people have called it Novo Mesto, because at the time it really was new. This marks the beginning of human creativity in the town, traces of which can be found in present-day Novo Mesto. During the first centuries in the area, crafts and trade were the main economic activities that made the town blossom. This development was interrupted by natural disasters (fires and epidemics) and Turkish raids, although the Turks never actually conquered the town. Novo Mesto is located on a steep promontory in a bend of the Krka and was protected by defensive walls.Ecclesiastic institutions, important for the town and the entire Dolenjska, have been active in Novo Mesto. Fleeing from the Turks, Franciscans settled in the town in 1472. In the immediate vicinity of Glavni Trg (Main Square), they erected a church and monastery. In 1493, Emperor Frederic III and Pope Alexander VI founded a collegiate chapter at the church of St Nicholas. The chapter church stands at the very top of the promontory and is the dominant feature of all Novo Mesto townscapes. From 1672 to 1786, a Capuchin monastery was active in the town and masses were held at St Martin's, St Catherine's, St George's and St Florian's churches, which today live only in the names of squares and streets.In the early 19th century, Novo Mesto was under the French administration of the Illyrian Provinces for a brief period of time. The economic, technical and social trends of Europe at the time did not bypass the town either. In the second half of the 19th century, national awakening took place. Numerous popular institutions (national library, Sokol gymnastics society, fire-fighters society, music society) were founded, where the town folk met, unleashed their creativity in different areas and gave their moral and financial support to the Slovene national movement. In 1873, the foundations of the first Narodni Dom (National Home) in Slovenia were laid and the construction was finished two years later. In the same period, the first train blew its whistle in the town and a hospital was built as well as the Kandija Bridge and several public buildings outside the town walls, which heralded the expansion of the town in the 20th century.The First World War interrupted the promising development of the town, although it affected it only indirectly, as a settlement behind the frontlines. The four years of the war took their toll, impoverishing the population and bringing death to the youths on the front. The end of the war was also the end of the Habsburg supremacy and the beginning of closer ties between southern Slavic nations who founded a common state of Yugoslavia that survived until the founding of independent Slovenia. We can probably imagine how relieved the town folk were when the war ended in 1918 and how enthusiastically they resumed their work in various areas of interest. At that time, the Krka began to feature significantly in the town's social life. The burghers built a bathing area, boat houses, laundry platforms and promenades where they spent their leisure time in the summer months.War changed the course of life again in 1941. After a brief German occupation, Novo Mesto remained under Italian administration until 1943, when Germans took over and stayed until the end of the war. The town's historical centre was heavily damaged during bombing raids, but even more painful were the numerous human casualties.In the second half of the 20th century, Novo Mesto changed its appearance significantly. It finally expanded over the medieval defensive walls. Numerous industrial plants were built and urbanisation accelerated. New educational, medical and cultural institutions were built throughout the Dolenjska region.Novo Mesto entered the 21st century as the main economic, administrative, cultural, religious, educational and sports centre of Dolenjska and confidently assumed its role as the leading town in south-eastern Slovenia.